A (not quite) daily post on a different aspect of the European Middle Ages.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

The First First Crusade

Urban II preaches the Crusade at Clermont

In November 1095, Pope Urban II had an announcement made at Clermont in France. The event had been advertised well ahead of time, so that thousands had time to make the journey to hear of the great enterprise he proposed. As the pope's speeches were given and repeated, excitement rippled out across the faithful. His call to action was astounding: for an army of volunteers to travel to the sacred city of Jerusalem and free it from Muslim rule.

To be thorough: there was more to the plan. Emperor Alexios I of Byzantium had requested help from the pope against invading Turks, and the pope saw an opportunity to help his Christian brother and then, since a western European army would be so close (800-900 miles!), why not take back the city that had been occupied by non-Christians since the 7th century? Expeditions like this required careful planning, and so the pope intended that it should begin in August of 1096.

Unfortunately, "crusading fever" spread quickly, and the spring of 1096 saw a movement of tens of thousands of peasants and lesser knights from across Western Europe amassing in separate groups and making their way toward the Holy Land. These various groups have been called the People's Crusade, the Peasants' Crusade, and the Paupers' Crusade. One group, led by a Walter Sans Avoir (Walter "Haves Not"), went through Germany and Hungary relatively peacefully, but reached the Belgrade area having exhausted their supplies. The leaders of Belgrade had no idea what to do with the newcomers and refused them aid, whereupon the "crusaders" took what they needed from he Belgrade area, causing much consternation and destruction.*

Other crusading groups (there were five major groups prior to the official and organized army) traveled down the Rhine and, finding communities of Jews, took it upon themselves to slaughter them or force them to convert to Christianity. Estimates of casualties among Jews range from 2,000 to 12,000.

Peter the Hermit on his donkey, addressing Crusaders

The largest group was led by a priest from Amiens, Peter the Hermit (d.1115), who preached the Crusade in France. He rode a donkey and claimed to have a divine commission to lead. He arrived at Constantinople with 30,000 followers, putting Emperor Alexius I in the position of needing to provision this "army" (which included women and children). Walter's group and others showed up as well. Constantinople could not play host to so many needy tourists, and Alexios agreed to ship them across the Bosphorus to Turkey, telling them to wait while h arranged soldiers to get them through the Turkish territory. Crusading fever would not allow delay, however, and the largely non-military masses advanced, to be cut down in the thousands by the Turks. Wounded, starving, and penniless, the handful of survivors could only wait with Peter (Walter had been killed by several arrows at once) for the real army to arrive.

Jerusalem was captured by the armies of the First Crusade, but none of the success can be attributed to any of the tens of thousands of people who set out months early with little but faith on their side.

*I think of Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi in the movie "The Blues Brothers": "They can't stop us: we're on a mission from God!"

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Chaucer Mysteries #1

A Death in Catte Street

A young Geoffrey Chaucer notices three men in London who shouldn't be there. Two days later, one of them is found dead in the basement of a locked house. Curiosity and a sense of moral obligation prompt him to explore the incident. His fumbling investigations—while more basement deaths turn up—lead him to learn more about the history of England than he ever suspected.

This is the first novel by Tim Shaw in the projected series of Geoffrey Chaucer Mysteries. It is told in the first person, as a much older Chaucer looks back to his youth—far from the experienced and knowledgeable poet he was to become in later life. If you like your medieval history wrapped in fiction, this is for you.

Reviews for "A Death in Catte Street"

Amazon:

"This is a very well plotted novel centered around an intriguing mystery. If you like novels that history and historical figures play prominently, you're sure to enjoy this!"

"A Death in Catte Street is a very enjoyable story, Well written and believable, with deep knowledge of the period. I immediately went to the author's blog to look for more of his work."

Amazon UK:

"I downloaded this book for several reasons: I like to try new authors; I'm a Chaucer fan; I adore historical who-dun-its; it was cheap. I'm so pleased I did. The start was somewhat slow and the first couple of chapters got rather bogged-down in details. However, once the story proper began it rattled along well. The character of Chaucer was believable as were the descriptions of London and the period. Very enjoyable book and I look forward to the second one of the series."

"I enjoyed reading about Chaucer in his early days, could he have actually been a up and coming detective? Tim Shaw made it seem as though it taking place in the 14th century London, I always enjoy going back in time seeing a different London, people being so much more robust than they are today."

iBookstore:

"The author takes you into the life of a young Geoffrey Chaucer, who is trying to make a life for himself as a commoner in the royal court. A somewhat naive Chaucer stumbles into a seventy year old mystery, and in so doing creates trouble for himself and others, and learns a thing or two about the way the world of medieval London works. Chaucer's attempts to solve the mystery leads him to interact with many actual medieval "celebrities", and the author takes us deeply into the culture, intrigues, and mindset of a world far different from our own."